Someplace to Be; Not Somewhere to Go

When it comes to hiking, the journey is the destination. The act of walking through Nature is, in and of itself, the entire point. But every now and again there is a place that you don’t want to walk through; you just want to stay.

Such it is with Las Conchas Trail… or as AllTrails.com calls it: Jemez River East Fork Trail.

I had had a whole adventure planned a couple weeks ago for my first real two day weekend. Go southwest and then head north to go through the Gilman Tunnels, stop at the visitor center for some trail maps, then head into the Santa Fe National Forest where Tuck and I would visit Jemez Falls (.7 hike) and then a few miles down the road the 3.5 mile hike of East Fork Trail, then finish the day by heading south along the Taos Highway and stopping at a dog friendly vineyard to walk about and have some wine tastings.
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But I woke up to this:

Doesn’t look too bad, but with it changing from snow to rain and back again hovering at the ever-precarious 32 degrees, I didn’t want to risk icy conditions in a mountain range I wasn’t familiar with.
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The next day was the official “winter weather watch,” and Tucker and I trekked through our neighborhood, reminiscing about Vancouver.

Five days of moping indoors while 70 degrees and sunshine melted away the snowstorm, I was ready for take two on my weekend. Before I left work though, my boss showed me some photos of where they had shot earlier that day. He said there was a trail that led down the river and rock-climbing equipment in the rocks. He said it was near the East Fork Trail, so I decided to forego the Tunnels and visitor center portion of my trip and add this little spot of heaven to our planned tracks.
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Alltrails.com’s directions led us straight to the trailhead for Jemez River East Fork Trail… except this was the sign:

​It was the trail my boss had showed me photos of the day before. A rose by any other name is still a rose… and this was a garden of them.

As I said, in some places, it is the hiking that brings the joy. The feel of boots on soft earth, the view along the way—the view around the next bend. But here, something was different. This wasn’t somewhere to go; this was someplace to be. This wasn’t a journey; this was an art gallery: Mother Nature’s Art Gallery.

​A couple of people climbed the sheer rock faces, but the few other people whose feet were planted on the earth were sitting and just being. I didn’t know where to turn for in every direction was a beauty to behold.

Unlike an art gallery where you walk from one scene to another, I was in one giant mural. The energy was a blanket of peace and I didn’t want to leave. 

​We walked because there was a trail to follow, and it did indeed join to the East Fork Trail on a series of switchbacks up the hill. But I chose to stay in the main gallery of art.

​My pictures do not do it justice. You must go for yourself to experience it fully. There are no words precise enough to describe it; and no amount of pixels could capture the beauty in all its truth. You step into Nature’s Gallery, and you become a part of her work. Every soul’s experience is different, but all are welcome.

​Tucker and I found joy and peace here. And I hope one day you, too, will come and experience it for yourself. For now, here is a vague reflection of our time in Nature’s Gallery:

May you find peace on earth by being in any of Mother Nature's Gallery, and may it leave you with a smile on your face and warmth in your heart wherever you may go.